Financial Orders

In financial remedy proceedings on divorce and civil partnership dissolution after taking into account all the circumstances of the case the court can make a range of orders, including any of the following:

Maintenance

Maintenance payments for the other former spouse or civil partner: These will largely depend on the need of one and the means of the other in the light of the standard of living of the couple. In some circumstances maintenance can be secured on an asset. Child Maintenance is usually dealt with via the Child Maintenance Service in domestic UK cases but can be dealt with in the financial remedy proceedings when exceptions apply.

Lump Sum Orders

Lump sum orders: These can either be made to adjust the assets or as capitalised maintenance or both. Since English courts need to consider whether a clean break is possible, if appropriate, they will make a lump sum order to cover future income needs instead of an order for maintenance. The lump sum will usually be less than simply the sum of the monthly maintenance instalments and there are sophisticated calculations to work out particular sums.

Property Transfers

The court can for example order for a house to be transferred to one party, maybe combined with a lump sum going the other way, effectively a buy-out. The court can also transfer things like a car or shares.

Sale of Property

The court can order a house, a flat or other assets to be sold and the proceeds to be divided in a certain way. Contrary to the law in other countries, there is no need for an auction in English law.

Delaying a Sale

The court can order that a property will not be sold for a particular period, for example for a house not to be sold until the children are grown up.

Pension Sharing

The court can split UK occupational and private pensions in any shares. They do not have to be equal. It can also order maintenance to be paid directly from pension payments or a lump sum to be paid directly from the death-in-service benefit or the commutable lump sum in private pensions. Pensions are complicated and specialist advice is essential. In a lot of cases the court may simply let spouses keep their pensions and give the other spouse something else instead. The court will need the cash equivalent value of a pension in order to value it. Pension providers have up to three months to provide this information and therefore you should request it as early as possible.

Extreme caution is necessary when there are uniformed services pensions (armed forces, police etc.) where the cash equivalent value often does not reflect the true value of the pension.

 

Creative Solutions

Of course, if parties come to an agreement, for example through mediation, they can agree other financial adjustments that the financial remedies court could not order. However, the court may not necessarily be able to enforce those parts of the agreement and therefore any consent order must be worded very carefully and it is essential that a specialist solicitor deals with the matter.


If you litigate through the courts about finances, this is naturally going to cost money on lawyers (as well as lost wages for days in court and stress etc). You may therefore argue about a shrinking cake to divide. Mediation is a good and inexpensive way to come to an overall settlement without going to court. Therefore, it is compulsory in most cases for anyone who wants to make an application to the court for a financial order to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) first.

For advice on your specific circumstances contact Andrea Woelke who works as a consultant solicitor at Josiah-Lake Gardiner Solicitors: ring Andrea on 020 3633 0338 (+44 20 3633 0338 from abroad) or him (stating your full name, the full name of the other person in your case and your telephone number on which we can call you).

Please note that Josiah-Lake Gardiner Solicitors do not have a contract to take on cases on legal aid. To check if you may be able to get legal aid please go to this government website and contact a solicitor who has a legal aid contract.

14 February 2024 by Andrea Woelke